Apparatus for controlling electrical circuits



L M. PLYM March 12, 1946.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS Filed Aug. V3, 1944 2 Sheets-Shree# l INVENTOR BY Z ATTORNEY L. M. PLYM .March 12, 1946.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS Filed Aug. 3, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Zesf ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 12, 1946 APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS Lester M. Plym, Glen Ellyn, Ill., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 3, 1944, Serial No. 547,953

(Cl. ll-1) 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in an apparatus for controlling electrical circuits and has particular reference to an apparatus for selectively controlling such circuits in accordance with a predetermined time-work program.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of this character which is relatively simple in its construction, one which is inexpensive to manufacture, one which is comprised of a minimum number of moving parts and which consequently is unlikely to get out of order, one which is extremely efficient in its use and one which lends itself readily to changes in the program of operations.

Most program machines for controlling electrical circuits according to a predetermined program employ a continuously moving perforated tape or other program bearing media for selectively closing the predetermined work circuits. The present program apparatus may be distinguished from such conventional apparatus in that individual cards are employed for each function. According to the present invention, a large number of these cards are contained in a le within the machine. 'I'he cards are readily removable from the iile and replaceable therein and the number of cards in the le may be increased at any desired time without interrupting the operation of the machine. Each card is capable of controlling one or more electrical circuits. In the operation of the apparatus, the cards are automatically selected from the front of the file and, after they have served their desired purpose, they are automatically replaced at the rear of the le so that the various card cycles may be repeated continually. Means are provided whereby the card file may be withdrawn from the machine for inspection or for program changes without disturbing the operation of the machine.

The provision of an apparatus of the character set forth above is the principal object of the invention and other objects and advantages thereof will become more readily apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this speciiication:

Fig. 1 is a schematic View showing the electrical circuits for the apparatus.

Fig, 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus with one of the side plates thereof removed to more clearly reveal the nature of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the apparatus in the upper regions thereof.

Fig.' 5 is a fragmentary front elevational View of a card moving member employed in connection with the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of one of the program con trol cards.

Fig. 8 is a front elevational View of a card picker employed in connection with thevpresent invention.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line iii-Ei of Fig. 2.

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic View showing the manner in which a pair of sensing rings employed in connection with the present invention are supported.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, the apparatus involves in its general organization an outer casing l0 including stepped front and rear walls l2 and lll respectively, side walls I6, a top Wall i3 and a bottom wall or plate 20. The top wall I8 is provided with a relatively shallow longitudinal de-i pressed portion 2i therein, the purpose of which will become apparent presently, The front wall l2 includes a hinged door 22 having a transparent panel 23 therein and by means of which access may be had to the card carrying storage rack in a manner that will be set forth subsequently.

In general, the invention contemplates that each operation of the program and of the circuit for controlling thelsame shall be represented by a separate independent record medium on which is recorded, by means of perforations, data identifying the operation and data indicative of the time at which the operation is to be eiected. Such a record medium is shown in the form of a perforated card C, as shown in Fig. 7. The card C is shown as being provided with a perforation 24 representing hours and a perforation 26 representing minutes,'the two perforations 24 and 26 determining the particular time at which a certain operation is to take place. For illustrative purposes, the perforations 24 and 26 shown in the card C of Fig. 7 indicates that a certain operation is to take place at 43 minutes after 3:00 oclock. The card C is shown as having marked thereon eighteen points of reference 28, one or more of which may have perforations applied thereto as at 30 to permit the closing of a circuit or circuits at the predetermined time represented by the perforations 24 and 26 to perform a particular selected function or functions. To distinguish the perforations 24 and 26 from the perforations 30, these former perforations are rectilinear in contour, while the latter perforations are circular. The card C is also provided with additional perforations 32 in the form of elongated slots, these latter perforations being provided for the purpose vof enabling the card to be automatically manipulated in a manner to be set forth subsequently.

The cards are adapted to be stacked in a storage rack or bin 34 in the order in which the various operations are to take place. For example, if there are one-hundred operations to be effected in the period represented by one cycle of operation of the device, say, over a period of vone week, one-hundred cards, one for each operation, would be placed in the rack. A change in the program of operations may be made at any time simply by removing a card or cards or by inserting one or more new cards as required. The function of the remaining cards ls not affected by this change. Moreover, no alteration whatsoever is required in the apparatus to accommodate such change or substitution of cards.

The rack 3Q is open at its front end and at its top and includes vertical side walls 36, a bottom wall 33 and a rear wall du. A combined card rest and guide member 32 is formed on the upper edge of the rear wall d@ and is provided with a forwardly and downwardly inclined portion it by means of which the cards are guided into the rack. A generally U-shaped tiltalole member it is pivoted as at lll to the side walls t@ of the rack adjacent the upper edge thereof and includes a horizontal plate lil and a vertical plate dii. With the member it in the position shown in Fig, 2 the horizontal plate Il@ extends across the upper portion of the rack in the forward region thereof, while the vertical plate d@ extends across the rack in the forward upper region thereof and the two plates are separated by a narrow elongated slot or throat il@ through which the individual cards are automatically projected as required. The member is adapted to be manually tilted upwardly to permit ready card rearrangements when the rack 343 is withdrawn from the casing A pressure plate 52 is disposed within the rack 3:3 and has associated therewith a coil spring iid by means of which the stack of cards C is pushed forwardly to align the first card in the stack with the throat 5@ immediately prior to withdrawal of this card from the rack.. As will appear presently, the pressure plate 52 is adapted to assume a retracted position to loosen the card pack to facilitate replacement of the successive cards during the operation of the apparatus. By means of this pressure plate the rack is designed to accommodate a varying number of cards in the pack.

The rack 3ft is horizontally slidable in the casing lll from the forward position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the retracted position shown in dotted lines in this figure. Toward this end, the bottom wall 38 of the rack is formed with a pair of oppositely disposed elongated ears 56 thereon which project into slots formed in a pair of guide members til. rlhese guide members t@ serve as a support for the rack 3d, while at the same time permitting limited shifting movement of the latter.

The side walls 36 of the rack ttl are each formed with a longitudinally extending slot therein, through which slots there project a pair of pins all (Fig. 3) carried at the rear end of slide member 66. Each slide member 66 is formed with a slot 68 therein through vhich there projects a stud 'l0 carried on one side wall 36 of the rack 34. A pair of guide members 12 straddle each of the slide members 66 and thus the latter are movable relative tothe rack. to extreme positions wherein the` stud ,10. .occupies a position a one or the other end ofthe slot 58.

The slide members 66 are provided with laterally turned ends 'I4 which are adapted to bear against the door 22 of the casing I0 when the rack 34 approaches its forward position. In this manner, the slide members 66 occupy the positions shown in Fig. 2 wherein the pins 64 engage the pressure plate 52 and hold the same in a retracted position so that the upper edge of the rearmost card C in the stack may bear against the inclined portion 44 of the member 42. When the rack 34 is moved to its retracted position, the pressure plate 52 operating under the influence of the spring 54 bears against the pins 64 and causes the slide members 66 to yield, thus allowing the stack of cards C to be forced forwardly so that the first card in the stack will become aligned with the throat 50.,

A rod 'i6 (Figs. 2 and 3) extends across the side walls 36 of the rack 34 at the rear lower corner thereof and serves to support thereon a pair of pivotally supported wire springs i8. Each of the springs it is formed with a rearwardly extending arm and a forwardly extending arm t2. Each arm il@ is adapted to be guided by a flanged roller til, the two rollers being mounted on a horizontal shaft t6, the ends of which are supported in bearing members t8 formed in the base plate 2li. The forward ends of the arms t2 project through openings lu formed near the lower edge of a picker plate Q2 which extends vertically upwardly through a slot Sit formed in the bottom wall it of the racls Sli. The arms are also designed for cooperation with the hanged roller 8&3, the action being such that when the rack is moved to its reai'most position7 these latter arms ride upwardly on their respective rollers thus carrying with them the piclrei1 member t2 and causing the rst card C in the stack to be elevated so that its upper edge projects through the throat 5U. When the rack tll is moved to its foremost position, the arms t@ ride upwardly on their respective rollers t4, thin causing the picker member 92 to be lowered. The picker member 92 is provided with a picker element 96 of a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of a card in order that when the picker element becomes elevated a single card .will be operated upon.

A bracket lll@ isafxed to the rear wall of the rack 34 and has projecting laterally therefrom a guide plate m2 formed with anvopen ended, longitudinally extending slot l|l4 therein. A pair of standards llll mounted on the base plate 20 at opposite sides thereof serves to support therebetween a horizontal pin |08 which extends through the slot ltd for guiding purposes. The rear end of the guide plate l2 is provided with a curved cam portion llll and with an upwardly extending hook-shaped nnger l l2.

Still referring to Figs. 2 and 3, a horizontal shaft lili extends completely across the casing le transversely thereof and is supported in bearings i carried by the two side walls An arm llt is secured to the shaft lili in the medial regions thereof and the outer end of the arm i it carries a roller l2@ designed for camming engagement with the curved surface ii@ of the guide plate |02 and with the upwardly extending finger ||2 formed on this latter plate. The open end of the slot |04 is adapted to be effectively blocked by means of a pivoted spring-pressed link |22 having curved surface |24 formed thereon conforming to the curved surface of the guide plate |02. 1t will be seen that upon rotation of the shaft ||4 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, the roller will engage the curved surface H0 of the guide plate |02 and force this guide plate, together with the rack 34 carried thereby, forwardly to the position shown in full lines. As the shaft continues to rotate, the roller |20 moves downwardly on the curved surface H9 and engages the ringer 2 to move the guide plate |02 and rack 34 rearwardly to the dotted line position. During that period of time wherein the roller |20 has moved out of engagement with the finger ||2 and has not yet moved into engagement with the curved surface H0, the rack 34 remains stationary in its retracted position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The cards C which are successively withdrawn from the iront of the rack 34 are adapted to-be moved vertically and brought to an operative position of register at a sensing station S (Fig. 2) and be maintained in such a position of registry for a predetermined length of time until such time as all sensing operations have taken place, after which time they are restored to the rack 34 at the rear thereof. This is made possible, as will appear presently, by virtue of the fact that as the rack 34 approaches its rearward limit of travel the picker 62 is brought into operation to elevate the foremost card in the stack contained within the rack for reception by a card elevator |26, and also by virtue of the fact that during sensing operations the rack 34 is moved forwardly to shift the stack of cards bodily and ultimately bring the stack to a position wherein upon lowering of the elevator the card held thereby will fall into position behind the reai'most card in the stack.

Immediately after these sensing operations are completed, the cards are restored to the rack, as previously described. Toward this end, a card elevator |26 (see also Fig. 5) is movable from the elevated position shown in Fig. 2 in full lines to the lower dotted line position thereof. The elevator |26 is generally of U-shaped design and includes a pair of side members |28 adapted to straddle the rack 34 when the elevator is in its lowermost position. The side members 28 are slidably disposed in a pair of grooves |30 provided inrespective vertically extending guide strips |32 formed on the side wall I6 of the casing I0. The elevator |28 also includes a cross piece |34 having formed thereon a pair of fingers or hooks |36 'adapted to be received by the slots 32 in the cards C for elevating purposes. A laterally extending iiange |38 formed on the cross piece |34 is adapted to overlie the elevated card and assist in moving the same downwardly when the elevator is moved to its lowered position. The side members |28 are provided with reinforcing flanges 40 having ears |42 adjacent their lower ends. A pair of studs |44 project inwardly from each of the side walls |6 of the casing l0 and serve to pivotally support thereon a pair of bell crank levers |46 having long arms |48 and short arms |50. The arms |48 are connected by means of pin and slot connections |52 to the respective ears and the short arms |50 carry cam rollers |54 thereon designed for cooperation with respective cam members |68 mounted on the shaft l I4 and rotatable therewith.

The cam members |56 are identical in design and are .similarly oriented on the shaft H4 so that the movements of the bell crank levers |46 will coincide. These cam members are formed with regions |08 of small eccentricity and with regions |88 of` relatively larger eccentricity, which taper inwardly as at |62. A pair of springs 964 serve to bias the bell crank levers |46 so that the cam rollers |54 will at all times follow the movements oi the cam members |56. It will be seen that when the rollers |54 ride upon the regions I 58 of the cam members |56, the elevator |26 will assume its elevated position in the vicinity of the sensing station S, and when the rollers ride upon the regions the elevator |26 will assume its lowermost position to force a card into the rack 34, the inclined surface 44 serving to guide the forward edge of the card into position behind the rearmcst card in the stack. When the rollers |64 enter upon the tapered portions i 62, the elevator |28 will be raised from its lowermost position a slight distance so that the hooks |36 will be in register with the perforations 32 in the foremost card C in the stack.

The orientation or the cam members |56 on the shaft H4, and their relative positions with respect to the angular position of the arm H6, is such that the elevator |26 will move downwardly immediately prior to rearward movement of the rack 36 and thus the cards C carried thereby will be deposited in the rack behind the rearmost card in the stack. Immediately after the elevator assumes its lowermost position, it is raised a slight distance by virtue of the cam portion |62 to clear the rack while the latter is moved rearwardly. In this position the hooks |36 are aligned with the perforations 32 in the foremost card in the stack. The elevator |26 remains poised in this position until such time as the rack attains its rearmost position and the perforations 32 are engaged by the hooks |36. When this condition has occurred, the rollers |54 ride onto the surface |58 of the cam members |56 and the elevator and its newly acquired card is carried upwardly to the sensing station S.

The sensing instrumentalities in the vicinity of the sensing station S include a sensing mechanism for sensing the perforations 24 and 26 which determine the time at which a particular function is to take place and a. separate sensing mechanism for sensing the perforations 30 which determine the particular function to be carried out. The former sensing mechanism comprises a pair of ring-like gears or sensing rings |10 and |12 which are of the freely floating type. These gears |10, |12 are centered between a plurality of flanged supporting gears |14, |16 and |18 in the case of the gear |10; and |14, |16 and |80 in the case of the gear |12; the gears |14 and |16 constituting small idler gears and the gears |18 and |80 constituting driving eearsnfor the gears |10 and |12 respectively. The gears |18 and |80 are adapted to be driven in any suitable manner from a. time controlled motor T. which if desired may be a conventional Telechron motor. through a gea-r reduction device designated in its entirety at |82. The sensing ring |10 (see also Fig. 1) is formed with an inwardly projecting lug |84 having mounted thereon a sensing brush |86, while the sensing ring |12 is provided with a similar inwardly extending lug |88 having mounted thereon a sensing brush |80. The

sensing brushes |86 and i90 are designed for cooperation with a pair of common sensing rings |92 and H94 respectively mounted on a movable sensing unit 208. The sensing brush lil@ and. its ring |92 are adapted for use in the sensing of the perforations 26 representing time in minutes, while the sensing brush i90 and its sensing ring |94 are designed for use in sensing the perforations 20 which representI time in hours. As will become more readily apparent when the circuit diagram for the apparatus is described, the cornmon rings E92 and i913 are directly connected in an electrical circuit, while the sensing rings il@ and il?, rely for their connection in the circuit upon their electrical contact with the driving' gears il@ and iilil, which latter gears are electrically connected in the circuit.

The sensing unit 200 is shown in detail in Fig. l. and includes sensing instrumentalities for sensing the perforations 30 which control the particular program functions of the machine. Toward this end, the unit 200 includes a rear plate 205i of insulating material, a metallic electrically conductive casing 206i of shallow cylindrical cupshaped design and a front plate 206 of insulating material to which the rings Q2 and llill are secured. A plurality of apertures 208, corresponding in number to the number of positions 28, are formed in the casing 201i and a plurality of bores 2|0 are formed in the insulating plate 206 in register with the apertures S. The bores 2|0 serve to receive therein the forward ends 202 of a plurality of sensing pins 2M having associated therewith contact collars 2id. ends of the pins 2|4 are slidably received in bores 2|8 provided in the rear insulating plate 2022. A spring 220 surrounds each of the pins 2id and bears at one end against the rear plate 202 and at the other end against the collar 208 normally urging the pin forwardly, as shown in Fig. l., to a position wherein the collar 2id makes electrical contact with the casing 204 to establish an electrical sensing circuit.

A pressure plate 222 of generally circular design is aflixed to the front wall l2 of the casing I0 for maintaining the cards C in a sensing position in front of the movable sensing unit 200 when the latter is in its forward position. Zit will be seen that when a card C is in position between the pressure plate 222 and the unit 200 in proper registry with the latter, such pins 2id as do not encounter apertures in the positions 28 of the card will be maintained in a retracted position wherein the collars 2|6 thereof are out of electrical contact with the casing 200. When one or more of the pins 2|4 encounters an aperture in its respective position 28 of the card, the forward end 2|2 of the pin will project completely through the-card and allow the collar 2| 6 to engage the casing 204 to complete an electrical contact. The pins 2| 4 are provided with electrical terminals 224 at the rear of the unit 200.

The sensing unit 200 is carried. at the upper end of a pair of oscillatable arms 226 which are pivoted adjacent their lower ends on the shaft 86. An attachment lug 228 is secured to the rear The rear plate 202 and a link 230 serves to connect the aeeasse 242 o1' small eccentricity and with a region 244 of larger eccentricity. Thus it will be seen that when the roller 230 rides upon the region 244 of larger eccentricity, as shown in Fig. 2, the sensing unit 200 will be moved to its foremost position and when the roller rides upon the region 242 ci small eccentricity, the sensing unit 200 will be moved to its retracted or rearmost position. The orientation oi the cam member 240 upon the shaft i iti and its relative position with respect to the cam G56 is such that the unit 200 will approach and attain its foremost sensing position immediately after the card elevator i2@ has arrived at its uppermost position to bring a card C into its operative sensing position. After all sensing operations have taken place, immediately prior to lowering or the elevator i265, the unit 260 is adapted to commence its rearward travel to free the card and allow the same to be moved downwardly to be returned to the rack ist. The front wall l2 ci the casing i@ is provided with an opening 200 therein to l.facilitate inspection of a card undergoing sensing. A transparent spider 24d integrally formed with the iront wall i2 spans the opening 2li@ for the purpose o supporting the pressure plate 222.

The gear reduction device i182 contains conventional gearing mechanism by means of which torque applied by the Telechron motor T is transmitted to the driving gears iid and l88. The gear reduction device U32 also includes a resetting knob 250 which is disposed within the longitudinal depressed portion 2i of the top wall i8 of the ycasing l0. During actual resetting operations, a

a pair o normally open contacts tc regularly at predetermined intervals, as will also subsequently be set forth.

In order to drive the shaft lid, a motor M is mounted upon the base plate 20 and is provided with a motor shaft 252 having a worm 254 thereon which cooperates with a worm gear 25E on the shaft EN. The electric circuit for the motor M remains normally open and is adapted to become closed only when the brushes |86 and |90 fall into register with their respective perforations 24 and 25 on a card C positioned at the sensing station S, as will become apparent during-the description of the circuit connections for the apparatus.

Referring now to Fig. 1 wherein the electrical connections for the apparatus are illustrated, the motor Ivi receives its source of energizing current from a battery B or other suitable source of current. When a card C is in position at the sensing station S and the brush |86 representing minutes and the brush |90 representing hours engage their respective contact rings |92 and |94, a normally open circuit is conditioned for subsequent closing thereof at the particular instant of time that the pair of contacts tc become momentarily closed under the influence of the mechscribed, and a cam wheel 26D mounted on the shaft I I4 is provided with a depression 262 therein which cooperates with a pair of fingers 264 and 266 to permit closing of a pair of normally open motor contacts mc and to permit closing of a pair of normally open sensing contacts sc. When the iinger 264 moves out of register with the cam depression 262 upon commencement of rotation of the cam wheel 260, the pair of normally open motor contacts mc become closed to establish a holding circuit for the motor M. This holding circuit exists from the source B through the motor M, line a. line Ic, contacts mc, line l, and line h to the source. By means of this circuit, the motor is maintained energized during one complete revolution of the shaft H4.

Upon rotation of the shaft H4 the various mechanical instrumentalities associated with the apparatus go through a complete card cycle, as previously described, during which cycle the sensing unit 20D is brought into operative sensing register with a card C situated at the sensing station S and at this time such sensing pins 2| 4 as encounter perforations 30 in the card C close an electrical circuit by virtue of the fact that the collar 2|6 makes electrical contact with the casing 204. When this occurs, a work circuit having terminals w and w exists from the terminal w through a source of current supply B', line m, the pair of contacts sc (now closed), line n, casing 204, collar 2|6, terminal 224 and line o to the terminal w'.

In Fig. 1 a single work circuit has been shown in its entirety leading from the terminal w to the terminal w' through the path `iust traced. Additional work circuits having terminals :c and x', y and y', z' and z', etc., are provided for each of the other sensing pins 2| 4 for the selective performance of various program functions. The various terminals w and w', a: and x', etc., may be operatively connected to relays R, RI, R2, etc., these latter relays representing the particular program functions desired.

The circuit for the motor M may be provided with a manually operable switch S' operable upon closing to establish a motor circuit from the motor M through the lines a and b, switch S', and source B back to the motor. This switch upon becoming closed shunts the pair of contacts mc and permits continuous operation of the motor M.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as the invention has been particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

What is claimed is:

1. In a program device, in combination. a reciprocable storage rack containing a serially arranged group of pattern cards each of which designates a particular operation of the program and the time at which the operation is to be effected, a reading device. said rack being movable upon reciprocation thereof from an advanced position wherein the nrst pattern card of the group is out of alignment with said reading device to a retracted position wherein said card is in alignment with the device, means for reciprocating said rack, means automatically operable upon movement of the rack from its advanced to its retracted position for bodily moving said rst card to a position wherein it is oiset from the remainder of the group of cards, mechanism for transferring the oset card from the rack to the reading device and for retaining the card in the device until the time indicated by the pattern thereon, means for eiecting the operation designated by the card at the time indicated, and means for returning the card to the rack when the latter has been restored to its advanced position.

2. In a program device of the character described, in combination, a reciprocable storage rack having a bottom and adapted to contain a serially arranged group of pattern cards positioned in alignment in face-to-face relationship with the lower edge of each card loosely resting upon said bottom, said rack being movable from an advanced position to a retracted position, means on said rack above the cards providing a throat through which the cards in said group are adapted to be fed one at a time from the forward end of the group, means yieldingly engaging said group of cards when said rack is in its retracted position to shift the group to a position wherein the rst card thereof is in alignment with said throat, stationary means positioned adjacent said rack for engaging said yieldable card engaging means when the rack is in its advanced position to render said latter means inoperative, and means operable upon movement of the rack to its retracted position for engaging said first card in the group and feeding the same through said throat.

3. In a program device of the character described, in combination, a reciprocable storage rack having a card supporting bottom and adapted to receive therein a serially arranged group of pattern cards positioned in alignment in face-to-face relationship with the lower edge of'each card loosely resting upon said bottom. said rack being movable from an advanced position to a retracted position, means on said rack above the cards `providing a throat through which the cards in said group are adapted to be fed upwardly one at a time from the forward end of the group, a pressure plate yieidingly engaging the rearmost card in said group and normally forcing the same forwardly in the rack to cause the entire group of cards to be moved bodily to a position wherein the first card thereof is in alignment with said throat, cam means operable upon movement of the rack to its retracted position for engaging the first card in said group and feeding the same through said throat, and a stationary abutment positioned in the path of movement of said pressure plate for engaging the latter when said rack approaches its advanced position to render the same inoperative.

LESTER M. PLYM. 

